


all packed up in boxes

by magpie (magpie13)



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: F/M, proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-08 04:49:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20315680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magpie13/pseuds/magpie
Summary: Kyo thinks about Tohru, and what real love, the kind you only experience when you truly become comfortable with each other, means.





	all packed up in boxes

The comfort of romantic permanence was something inequitable to any other form of connection that existed in the world, Kyo thought. There was a sweetness and innocence in pining, in savoring every moment like it’s the last you have with someone, but underlying it all is always the fear and worry that is really is the last moment. If you had asked him a year ago, he would have said he loved Tohru because he knew everything about her, and she, him, but that familiarity was nothing compared to being in a real relationship, living together, and waking up to her every morning. Living in Shigure’s house, he saw her in the morning, stumbling sleepily out of her room in a matching pajama set, into the bathroom to brush her teeth, but waking up to tendrils of her hair tickling his chest, her pajama top slightly twisted from moving around in the night, and brushing their teeth together, side by side, was a completely different feeling.

When he was a teenager, he’d felt literal pain in his chest at the thought of leaving her, the thought that she didn’t want him around the way he wanted her, the thought of anything hurting her, including him, but now, he knew better. The fact that he would be by her side, to say he loved her, to protect her from anything that hurt her, and most importantly, to hold her hand and support her when she faced something only she could protect herself from. There was occasionally every-day people in the dojo he’d been teaching at who would marvel in surprise that he was ‘still with’ his ‘high school sweetheart’, as if his love for her was only that of someone with sixteen years, that would eventually go away, like a summer night that felt permanent, only because it appeared so. The summer night of his love for her-no, their love for each other, would never be replaced by the daylight.

Or if it was a summer night, they’d face the next day together, until fall, when they’d take their daily walk among brightly colored leaves, until winter, when they’d pass by the house Yuki and Machi had moved into and saw the footsteps that always marred the snow, until spring, when their dinner table always had flowers in the vases, because he and Tohru would go out every morning and pick them.

It surprised him how people would act like loving someone was something they couldn’t control. They’d watch a romantic movie on their battered, discount TV on Friday nights, like an old couple, they’d get teased, and he’d frown at the love interest who insisted it was better for the other if they left, or said they had to leave to find themselves. He had found himself, in this new and different town, but he never would have been able to without the steady presence at his side, the person who always walked the twenty minutes there and back to bring him lunch before she left for her part time job at the day-care. Kyo believed that although his love had manifested for her without him doing anything, every day into the years they had stayed by each other’s sides was a choice. You choose to love someone, even when it’s hard. Love was when she patiently waited on the roof with him when he was frustrated, not saying a single word, but holding his hand. Love was when he gently asked her what was bothering her until she told him, because he wanted to prove that her complaints were valid and important to him.

If the night on the beach, after being confronted by Akito, was a sudden realization that he loved her more than anything else he’d ever known, their time together after the curse broke was a constant reminder. Every day he saw her face, saw her smile, saw her tie her hair up to cook, was another moment tapping on his shoulder. Of course I love her. It wasn’t even a question anymore. Why would either of them ever want to be unsure of it again, after two years of wondering, and wishing, and hoping. Two years of frustrations, of stubbornness, and of tearful confessions. He only wanted her to cry for him two more times.

When she walked down the aisle towards him, and when he asked her to.

One of those days was today.

Kyo looked down at the small box in his hands. The storeowner has asked him why he was so concerned about the box it came in, and he smiled as he tried to explain what he already knew: that the box would join the zodiac figurines and his beads, like everything else that meant the most to her. It was a light colored wood, almost like bamboo, and inside was a silver band, topped with a small, sparkling, flower. The seven stones that created the petals winked at him, and he smiled shyly. Proposing wasn’t something he ever thought he would do, even if he had the ability to, but that was before he realized that there was a person who would love him, no matter what. As annoying as it was to admit, just like Shigure said. The person who saw his flaws, saw his mundanities, his secrets, good and bad, and decided he was worth it. He slipped the box into the pocket of his jeans, and stood up as he heard the door unlock.

Walking her walk into their home was like a dream, every time. She would smile, and call out, “I’m home!”. The key hook next to the door had two labels on its hooks, one for ‘tohru’ and one for ‘kyo’. She would hang up her sweater on the coatrack on the other side, nestled among his downy winter cargo jackets, and her pink peacoat. She’d wipe her feet on their ‘welcome’ mat that she’d thrifted, and walk straight into his arms for a hug. Those hugs were something Kyo knew he absolutely could not live without ever again. Her face buried into his chest, right between his pectorals. He could rest his chin on the top of her head, or lean down to rest it on her shoulder, where he could feel his cheek touch hers. Today, he picked her up, and she squealed delightedly. His arms locked together to make a rest for her lower half, and he cradled her form like she was the most precious glass, something that could never drop, which, of course she was.

“Kyo! Hello!” She giggled at him, and brushed her hair out of her face where it had fallen. “I’m back! But I think you already know that.”

“I missed you,” he kissed her softly, and stopped for a moment to look at her just-been-kissed face, eyes still slightly closed, face turned upwards. “I have an idea for our walk today.”

“Oh, good! I was worried, because I thought my turn was coming up soon. I want to make sure I find someplace wonderful for us to walk around next time!” She smiled at him like the sun was shining straight out of her face.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you will,” He smiled back, and caught her hand in his. “Are you ready to go, or do you want a minute?”

She took a moment to think, something that pleased him, because it meant she was really weighing her feelings, not just going with what she thought was convenient, or would make him happy. “Is it okay if I change shoes?”

“Of course.” He let her hand go for just a second, but let her fingers trail along his wrist for a beautiful, thrilling touch, before she left to the other room. Their apartment was basically the two rooms, main and bedroom, as well as a bathroom. The open main room contained their kitchen and living room, battered TV between a wall and a used kotatsu. The kitchen was easily the most decorated space in the house, being one of their shared hobbies. They collected pots, pans, and utensils every time she passed a thrift store or a sale, and new spices that she wanted to try were lined up on the shelves he had nailed to the walls. He could see out the one window to their laundry line, where sheets fluttered in the April breeze. It’s her birthday next month, he reminded himself. It was circled on the next month’s calendar flip, in pink. He often would fix something in the house, the floorboards or a cupboard, while she hummed to herself and hung up laundry outside. She was a creature of habit, usually doing laundry on the same day each week. Her habits hadn’t changed much since they lived in Shigure’s house, but somehow, having them in a space of their own made them all the more special. And of course, there was something they did together frequently in this apartment that they could never do quite as comfortably in Shigure’s house…

“I’m ready!” She called, coming back from their bedroom, slipping her hand into his and interlocking their fingers. “Where are we going?”

“That’s a secret. You wouldn’t want me to tell you, would you?” He teased her, ruffling her bangs.

“Aha, of course not, Kyo,” she answered, blushing slightly. “I like surprises!”

“I think you’ll like this one,” he said quietly, pretending like he didn’t see her slightly confused expression. He locked the door behind them, making sure to put his keys in his other pocket, and they skipped down the stairs together. As they walked, she admired every flower they passed, and talked about where she wanted to go to pick for next week’s dinner bouquet. She talked excitedly about work, the breakthroughs she’d had with kids would were more shy, or more angry, reminding him bashfully of himself, and whether he thought she should bring some flowers over to Yuki and Machi, or would they like leaves better? They had one framed in their house after all, she pointed out. Kyo loved her excited chatter, and listened intently to every word she said, chipping in when he felt like something was important, but mostly letting her talk about everything she found interesting. They walked farther into a forest path they often strolled along, and watched the early evening light filter in through the trees, in full, extended spring leaf glory. Occasionally, she’d point out to him the name of a flower or plant, and he’d tell her what plants could be used for medicine, things he’d learned when he trained in the mountains.

Finally, he pulled her along to a hewn log bench off the beaten trail of the path, slightly shaded, mostly out of sight. He half wondered if she’d ask what the surprise was, since they’d just walked a path they’d gone down plenty of times before, but naturally she’d never ask, just in case this was the surprise and she had just missed it. She wouldn’t want to imply that this wasn’t a good surprise.

Sometimes, he thought, he knew her so well it was a little startling.

“Tohru,” he started, embarrassing himself with a small voice crack. He was already blushing, he could feel it on his face. His heart beat quickly, and he could feel it pounding in his throat, but in a way that felt good, like he was doing something right. Scary and new, but right.

“Yes, Kyo?” she asked, beaming at him like the little sunflower she was. She squeezed his hand in hers, and he inhaled sharply.

“You know,” he murmured, “I don’t think I ever knew what real love was until I met you.”

“Oh, Kyo,” she sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder. “You’re too nice to me.”

“I’m exactly the right amount of nice to you,” He responded, leaning his head on top of hers, making a lovey-dovey sandwich. “I want to be nice to you forever. I really love being with you, and waking up with you, and getting to sleep with you, and…and everything we do together. Even laundry.”

“Even laundry?” She laughed. “That’s a compliment for sure!”

He pulled away and gathered both of her hands in his own, looking directly into her eyes and turning up the serious factor by a degree. “It’s true though. I really love you, and I always want us to be together.”

She fell silent, but her eyes shined to give him enough courage to keep going. “I think you’re the most caring, sweet, person I’ve ever met. But…that’s not what I love about you. That’s what everyone loves about you. I mean, I love that too, but I love other things too. When a shirt won’t fold right and you get annoyed, but you don’t want to say anything, I love the expression you have. Or when the alarm goes off and you don’t want to wake up yet, so you try to hide your face in your hair. I love all these things about you, and I’m so glad I’ve gotten to live with you and see them for myself.”

He stopped, and dropped one of her hands, reaching back into his pocket. “I love everything about you, and you make me happier than I ever thought possible. And…”

He pulled out the box, let go of her other hand, and opened it, relishing every miniscule expression and movement of her eyes as she realized what was happening. “I want us to get married, if that’s okay with you.” He smiled at her like a little kid on their birthday, eyes full of excitement, and hope for what was to come.

Her eyes immediately filled with tears, but he had his hand at the ready to brush them away. One of the two remaining moments left he’d see them, he thought to himself. Wordless, she nodded at the speed of light, making her hairbows sway in the breeze like butterflies, then launched herself at him to kiss deeply, reaching her hands into his fluffy hair, still nodding as they kissed.

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes,” she was still saying yes as he kissed her again, and slid the ring onto her finger. 


End file.
